Moving pieces including figurines or ships or other parts can make a grandfather clock truly magical.  The writer of this blog post is reminded of the amazing lock still in the Central Park Zoo, which every hour plays a wondrous chime and has different bronze animals rotate around the base of the clock.  As a child, I found that clock truly amazing, and now, I don’t want to say exactly how many years later, I still find that magical timepiece, perhaps best termed a tower clock with automata, a marvel to behold.

Over the last hundreds of years, makers of some of the finest timepieces have created works of art, with everything from grandfather clocks to wall clocks to mantel clocks to pocket watches which have moving parts and pieces.  Perhaps some of the most popular, not too surprisingly, have been erotic pocket watches, as they are generally termed.  If not familiar with them, one could guess what some of the main candidates for the moving pieces might be on those watches.  But that is not the focus of clock and watch history here.

Some wonder clocks will, for instance, have a ship that moves or rocks back and forth, sometimes but not always tied to the movement of the grandfather clock pendulum, and in that case generally moving in the opposite direction.  Some clocks have moving planets and some feature the Earth’s moon rotating.

Over many centuries, grandfather clocks and other amazing timepieces – giant, large and small – have featured moving animals, including dogs and cats with tails wagging and mouths opening or eyes moving or tongues coming in and out.  Clocks with skulls and animals, including owls, show eyes which may not only rotate back and forth, but may actually move to look at the time as it changes, using the eye movements as the clock’s time indicator.  Music boxes and nested bells are not unusual in some of the more elaborate clocks automata.

Even one alarm clock, which is pictured below, and was made in the 1940s, shows that “the early bird gets the worm”, a clever alarm clock theme, and has the bird bobbing back up and down every second as the worm moves up and down toward the birds mouth.

Rotating moonphase dials or moon dials on grandfather clocks are another wonderful form of what might be termed lower tech automata.  The dials make one complete rotation every 29 1/2 days, in keeping with the actual lunar cycle.  In ancient times, these moondial or moonphase grandfather clocks were used by farmers to help them to plan not only for the planting of crops, but also for the harvesting of the fruits of their labors.

Even though this clock shows a still shot, one can see from the time delay aspect of the photo that both the bird, especially its tail, and the worm, have moved in this very short period of time.

We think that clocks with automata have a great future.  We are especially excited about grandfather clocks and mantle clocks in this regard.  If grandfather clock shoppers, or those seeking mantel clocks, including corporate gift and promotional products, have any ideas for specific clocks with an automata component, we would love to hear from you about any and all of your wall clock, mantel clock, grandfather clocks, alarm clock, wristwatch, or any other specific type of suggestion or request.

Sometimes grandfather clocks for less is more and sometimes it is not.  If this sounds baffling, is the age old time truism that what you pay for is not what you always get, and sometimes you do get a grandfather clock that you expected for what you paid.

There are many elements to consider when shopping for grandfather clocks.  There is of course the grandfather clock itself, by such fine makers as Howard Miller Clocks and Ridgeway Clocks and Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks.  But a grandfather clock shopper has to be extremely careful not to be fooled by appearances, or clocks that may look like the grandfather clocks of other makers which may have similar sounding names, only to find out that these grandmother and grandfather clocks may require major assembly, may be made of particle board vs solid wood, and may have a movement which is of very poor quality.

Smart grandfather clocks shopping, even when looking for grandfather clock discounts and grandfather clocks on sale, requires looking at elements beyond the brand.  This includes service, including delivery service and what exactly is offered and is it delivered in the way described.  We at 1-800-4clocks.com get many repeat clocks purchasers because they are so pleased with the delivery and free in-home setup we offer, by qualified professionals, to our customers for most floor clock purchases.

Grandfather clock product selection is another important element in a purchase decision.  In carrying only the finest brands with the best values, including Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks and Kieninger Clocks, we make certain that customers are choosing only among high quality offerings, and yet still with a great range of selections and alternatives.  Our Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks brand features many of the very same grandfather clocks, made by the very same people with the same solid wood and other materials, same high-quality mechanical triple chime German Hermle movement, that were made and offered by Bulova Clocks and the venerable Sligh Grandfather Clocks, neither of which currently offer or sell any grandfather clocks any more.

Quality movements are also vitally important, and currently all of our mechanical grandfather clocks feature German made movements made either by Hermle Clock or Kieninger Clock.  Those two companies are the only remaining high-end makers of grandfather clock movements that continue to make mechanical grandfather clock movements in any large quantity.

Quality and type of wood is also critically important.  Unless obvious, such as with a wrought iron floor clock, the grandfather clocks that we carry are all solid wood, sometimes with a certain wood veneer that is built to last more than the lifetime of the clocks.  Some brands, like our own Museum Clocks Grandfather Clocks, have cases that are made 100% of the type of wood described.  So an Oak Grandfather Clock or a Cherry grandfather clock means solid oak wood and solid cherry wood construction, even including the backside of the clock, where some makers make the wood razor thin thinking the grandfather clock will be up against the wall anyway.

Chimes and the sound quality are critical.  Mechanical movement chimes offer the best sound quality, and tubular chime grandfather clocks are in a class by themselves and will not even be discussed further in this post.  Cable-driven clocks can be simply a single chime Westminster Chime grandfather clock, or a triple Chime featuring most commonly the Whittington and St Michaels Chime additionally, and on a few select models the grandfather clocks may also have the Beethoven Ode to Joy and Schubert Ave Maria chimes as additional chiming options.  Mechanical chain driven grandfather clocks will typically have only the Westminster Chime, and few of the additional features such as auto night shut off and revolving moondial that many customers adore.

Additional features include automatic nighttime shutoff on many of the cable driven mechanical grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks.  Working or rotating moondials or moonphase dial, as opposed to a stationery faux dial on many chain driven mechanical clocks, can be an added bonus.  Illuminated grandfather clock dials, or lights in the interior cabinetry containing the weights and pendulum, are another added bonus feature.

So when considering what you get for your money, a grandfather clocks smart shopper needs to always do their homework, and know what they are getting for their hard-earned dollars.  Sometimes less is more, sometimes more is less.

Museum Clocks Grandfather Clock Collection

Museum Clocks™

Whether you are purchasing a grandfather clock, grandmother clock, wall clock, mantle clock, floor clock or atomic clock, you want to get the most clock for the least money.  Put another way, the best grandfather clocks value available, and one that will keep its value in an heirloom quality furniture kind of way.  So it is not always about the lowest priced clocks, but the best clock one wants and can afford, with the best service, at the lowest price.  At 1-800-4CLOCKS.com, we think grandfather clocks for less means more clock and grandfather clock service for the lowest price available.  That is why we have our Low Price Guarantee on all the grandfather clocks and grandmother clocks we sell, including Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks, Hermle Grandfather Clocks, the Howard Miller Grandfather Clock Collection and Kieninger and Ridgeway Grandfather clocks.

All of the mechanical clocks from these makers come with German movements made by the venerable firms of Hermle or Kieninger Clocks.  All our mechanical grandfather clocks, with the exception of one very high-end Hermle German Astro-Regulator grandfather clock with a 30 day movement, have an 8 day movement, whether cable driven or chain driven.  So if you wind your grandfather clock once a week, it will keep ticking and ticking away.  If you forget, no problem, one just needs to re-set and wind the grandfather clock end, and following normal instructions, no damage will occur to the grandfather clock.

An added dimension is the flood of cheap imports of low quality grandfather clocks, where most all of the investment by these companies was made in looks vs substance.  Now while one could certainly buy one of these types of grandfather clocks for less, one is left with a flimsy shell of a floor clock and a movement that will sound nothing like a higher-end German made mechanical grandfather clock movement from Hermle or Kieninger.  Howard Miller grandfather clocks, Hermle Floor Clocks, the Ridgeway Grandfather clock collection, and our own Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks represent the finest in quality and workmanship, with many price point and all clocks that are built to be heirloom quality, but while still providing grandfather clocks on sale that give the best value and savings guaranteed as described.

The service aspect, which in our case includes in-home delivery and free in-home set-up, along with Free Shipping, no sales tax outside of New York, and our low price guarantee, this is truly a case where grandfather clocks for less is MORE.

Please visit our newest addition to our grandfather clock line, Museum Clocks™ Grandfather Clocks, with just a couple of models shown below for reference:

Museum Clocks Frodsham II Grandfather Clock List: $5,650.00 SALE: $3,672.50

Museum Clocks Clement Grandfather Clock List: $6,500.00 SALE: $4,225.00

We invite you to see them all and all of our lines of grandfather clocks at the lowest prices guaranteed.=, at 1-800-4CLOCKS.com .